St Malachy’s College partnered with Creative Hut to design and deliver a Digital Creative Hub and Hybrid Esports Arena, creating a dedicated space for students to develop practical digital skills. The project provides a long-term solution to support STEAM education across North Belfast, combining cutting-edge technology with a structured, collaborative learning environment.
Schools served
months from start to launch
partner schools attending weekly
The Background: Creating opportunities through digital skills
St Malachy’s College, a Catholic grammar school in Belfast, identified a need to create a dedicated space where students could develop STEM skills in a meaningful, hands-on way.
Research from STEM Learning shows that 89% of STEM businesses struggle to recruit candidates with the required skills, contributing to a shortfall of over 173,000 workers. For St Malachy’s, this highlighted the importance of equipping young people with practical, future-ready capabilities.
Working in partnership with the North Belfast Area Learning Community, which includes 11 post-primary schools and Belfast Met, the College set out to create a shared hub that could support skills development across the region.
The Challenge: Moving beyond a one-off space
The ambition for St Malachy’s was to build a central hub that could bring together students from across multiple schools, while making digital skills feel engaging, relevant and accessible.
A key challenge was making sure the space didn’t just deliver an initial “wow” moment, but continued to add value over time. It needed to support ongoing learning, helping students build practical skills they could develop further as they progressed through school.
The hub also had to work for a wide range of users. It needed to be engaging enough to inspire those new to digital learning, while still offering the depth and flexibility to challenge more confident students and support different teaching approaches.
The Solution: Designing a hub built to last
Creative Hut worked closely with St Malachy’s College to bring their ambition to life, creating a space designed to support long-term digital skills development across the College and its wider learning community.
What began as a vision for a shared STEAM environment evolved into a fully realised Digital Creative Hub and Hybrid Esports Arena. The hub includes a high-spec gaming arena, a dedicated robotics and coding room, and flexible breakout spaces, all designed to feel engaging and inspiring for both students and staff.
The space is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including high-performance gaming PCs, LEGO robotics kits and VR headsets. Students can design and explore their own 3D worlds, while the same technology is also used to enhance learning across other subjects.
Following consultation, Creative Hut developed and refined concepts before delivering a detailed proposal covering technology, furniture, graphics and curriculum integration. Working alongside architects and contractors, the team ensured the space worked both functionally and visually.
Training was a core part of the rollout, with ongoing support from Creative Hut’s STEAM team and eLearning platform to ensure the hub continues to deliver impact over time.
Creative Hut supported every step of the project, from planning and design through to delivery and training. Their team were knowledgeable, patient and genuinely invested in helping us bring this vision to life. The result is a space that is already making a real difference to our students and wider community.
— Clare McGrathCreative Digital Leader | St Malachy’s College
The Impact: A shared space for skills development
The Digital Creative Hub is now actively used by students at St Malachy’s and partner schools, forming a central part of the College’s outreach programme.
Students are developing practical skills in coding, robotics and digital design, while also building confidence through collaborative, hands-on learning. The inclusion of VR technology has expanded opportunities across subjects, enhancing teaching beyond traditional STEM disciplines.
The hub is already supporting shared education, with multiple schools attending weekly sessions, and Year 8 students regularly using the space as part of their curriculum.
By providing access to industry-standard tools and environments, the project is helping to address the regional skills gap while creating a more engaging and future-focused learning experience.
The College is now using the hub to demonstrate impact and explore opportunities for further investment, with the long-term ambition of expanding access to even more learners across North Belfast.
Looking Ahead: Expanding access and long-term impact
Following the successful launch, St Malachy’s plans to build on the momentum of the project over the next two academic years. By showcasing the value of the Digital Creative Hub, the College aims to secure additional investment to scale the model and widen access across the community.
Creative Hut will continue to support the College through training, platform access and ongoing collaboration, ensuring the space continues to evolve alongside both educational needs and technological developments.
The project reflects a shared commitment to bridging the gap between education and industry, helping young people develop the skills, confidence and awareness needed for the future.
It has been an absolute privilege to be part of this project together with St Malachy's College, whose passion and effort to make this superb learning space a reality has been incredible. It’s just brilliant to now see it fully in action with lots of excited and enthusiastic pupils & teachers from across the North Belfast Area Learning Community.
— Neil TaylorDirector of Creative Consultants | Creative Hut